(1) Field of the invention
The present invention generally relates to an information processing system for processing documents including non-coded data, such as image data and audio data, and more particularly to an information processing system in which a retrieving process based on non-coded data is allowable.
(2) Description of the Related Art
In an information processing system in which processes for making, editing and retrieving documents are performed, coded data such as character data and symbol data and non-coded data such as image data and audio data are processed. In the retrieving process performed in such a system, specific characters or symbols are retrieved from coded characters and symbols included in a document. In addition, a document including specific coded characters or symbols (Key Words) is retrieved from documents stored in a storage unit.
However, in the conventional information processing system, a retrieving process is not performed based on non-coded data such as image data and audio data. For example, it is allowable neither to retrieve specific image and/or audio data from a document nor to retrieve a document including a specific image and/or audio data from a group of documents stored in the storage unit.